Proto Audiobook By Laura Spinney cover art

Proto

How One Ancient Language Went Global

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Proto

By: Laura Spinney
Narrated by: Emma Spurgin-Hussey
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About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Proto by Laura Spinney, read by Emma Spurgin-Hussey

The enthralling story of how today’s largest language family, spoken by nearly half the world’s population, descended from one ancient dialect.

Daughter. Duhitár-. Dustr. Dukte. Listen to these English, Sanskrit, Armenian and Lithuanian words, all meaning the same thing, and you hear echoes of one of history’s most unlikely journeys. All four languages—along with hundreds of others, from French and Gaelic, to Persian and Polish—trace their origins to an ancient tongue spoken as the last ice age receded. This language, which we call Proto-Indo-European, was born between Europe and Asia and exploded out of its cradle, fragmenting as it spread east and west. Its last speaker died thousands of years ago, yet Proto-Indo-European lives on in its myriad linguistic offspring and in some of our best loved works of literature, including Dante’s Inferno and the Rig Veda, The Lord of the Rings and the love poetry of Rumi. How did this happen?

Acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney set out to answer that question, retracing the Indo-European odyssey across continents and millennia. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the silk roads and the Hindu Kush. We retrace the epic journeys of nomads and monks, warriors and kings – the ancient peoples who carried these languages far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the scientists on a thrilling mission to retrieve the lost languages and their speakers: the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists who have reconstructed that ancient diaspora. What they have learned has profound implications for our modern world, because people and their languages are on the move again. Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.

©2025 Laura Spinney (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Ancient Archaeology Biological Sciences Civilization Evolution & Genetics Genetics Science Social Sciences World Royalty
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Critic reviews

'Formidably researched but lightly written, I put down this book with the pleasurable sense that the world around me had become a little stranger and richer.' (Helen Gordon)

'Superb. With style and panache, Laura Spinney tells a truly extraordinary detective story.' (Matt Ridley)

'This beautifully researched and written book is about far more than language; it is a history of the world in microcosm, drawing together a diversity of subjects from genetics and religion to warfare and boozing. I highly recommend this wholly absorbing book.' (Douglas Preston)

'Spinney charts an extraordinary journey through human history with words as a compass. It is a sweeping story beautifully told. Profound and illuminating.5' (Moudhy Al-Rashid)

All stars
Most relevant  
I thought the narration was excellent and so was the content. I'm not credentialed in linguistics but the material seems to me to be of sufficient depth and quality make up an introductory survey course for first year students.

My one big complaint is the lack of an accompanying PDF.

Excellent survey of the topic, needs accompanying PDF.

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so much new information gathered and combined productively with each other. an intro to many indo European language families. one thing I missed is the impact of Semitic languages - especially when she discussed the word for wine without mentioning the Hebrew word yayin which is very close to the examples from (if I remember correctly) Armenian. also the reference to early hominids using sign language for which there is obviously no evidence.

interesting combo.of DNA, archeology, linguistics

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This is the book I've been waiting for! I'm fascinated by historical linguistics and this is the first popular book on the subject, at least as far as I know, in quite a while. Spinney uses the latest findings from archaeology and genetics to to explain the spread and divergence of Indo-European languages across so much of the world. Her discussion of what may have been the original Indo-European tongue and who might have spoken it is brilliant. At the same time, she admits that there is still much to learn. And she readily acknowledges the contributions of other language families. At times, the details do get a bit overwhelming but it is difficult to study languages without such attention. All in all, Spinney does an excellent job of helping the curious reader understand the latest science behind languages old and new.

Attention All Language and History Nerds!

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I wonder if I should have purchased the print version as well. I wonder if there are maps, diagrams and illustrations to aid the reader. Actually hearing the languages and the associated sounds was well worth the bit of confusion I felt while trying to remember Eastern European geography or imagine what ancient writing might look like.
I have four hearts, and as a speaker of Indo-European languages, I often marvel at little unexpected similarities between seemingly unrelated languages. For example: How did “Haber” make its way into Spanish? Is it from the Visigoths? This book helped take my musings back even further in time, and I appreciate that.
I recommend this book for fans of history, archaeology, European travel, and mythology, But you might want to keep an online map open along the way.

Very Interesting

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great pronunciation, good pace. very enjoyable listening even though it would be imagined as a dry topic. it was very engaging.

fascinating material

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Spinney is terrific in digging deep into scholarly research without losing her narrative verve. This was my second book by her. The first one was the extraordinarily timely Pale Rider

Brilliant research and narration

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